Can you feel this?
by virtualfindingsdocumented
Summary: Three suspicious people visit Briny Beach before sunrise, and they have some plans.


_**A/N**_ : Entry for Fictober _2018, day 1._

 _ **Prompt:** "Can you feel it?"_

* * *

Fall brought a cold wind to the City, and any reasonable person would rather be in their warm and soft bed than out during such late in the night that it could already be called morning. The sun hasn't risen yet, and only three figures were desperate enough to be walking on Briny Beach at such a time.

Ellington Feint was in charge of carrying the lantern (electric, no fire), and also the most important item for this mission. Even after all this time, she didn't trust anyone else to have it.

She shook her head at her companion's choice of outfit. Hat, long-coat, gloves, very little exposed skin. Lemony Snicket made sure to always look like the fugitive he was, much more worried about not having his identity recognized than about not looking suspicious. Then again, Ellington considered that anyone would look suspicious walking on the beach at such an hour, no matter the clothing. Snicket had a quote about it, as he always had about _everything_. Even Beatrice, with her big seaweed green eyes, curly hair and innocent face could look suspicious walking with them.

Beatrice had been very excited about this night, not only because of the big step they were taking in finding her family, but also because she would have an adventure with her uncle and _aunt_. Although being considered family by Beatrice gave her a warm feeling she hasn't felt in ages, Ellington refused to answer to _aunt Ellington_. Still, that was more or less what she became.

Beatrice now seemed uneasy. Lemony had told her to walk in front of them, so they could keep an eye on her all the time, but not too far so that they wouldn't be able to react immediately to any danger that could appear. She obeyed, always trusting that the two adults would protect her no matter what, but by her posture, it seemed to Ellington that she just wanted to go back home.

Ellington also wanted to go home. She wanted to lock her bag in the most secure safe she could find, and never open it again. She wanted to stay as far away as she could from the ocean. She wanted to kick Snicket for coming up with this plan in the first place. But there was one thing that she and Snicket had in common, the same thing that made him come up with the plan and that made Ellington bear his presence: they would do anything for Beatrice.

And his plan was crazy and terrifying and made Ellington want to run away in tears, but it was smart.

The trio stopped just a bit before the sand became humid, a safe distance from the waves.

"We are really doing this," Ellington said, looking at the ocean for just a moment. She was not the only one avoiding it. Beatrice had her head lowered, and played with her own fingers.

Lemony reached out his hand to Ellington. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he probably couldn't see it as she was the one holding the lantern.

"Miss Feint." He said, maybe not comfortable in asking what he was asking from her.

Ellington held her bag a little closer to her body.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"No one is ever sure."

"Are you sure you can communicate with that _thing_?" She insisted.

"I can't be sure, Miss Feint. I didn't spend the last years trying to talk to it." He said, impatient. "But I know that I talked to it once, and it understood me."

"Please, Ellington," Beatrice said, her voice not much louder than the sound of the waves. "We need to try. This is the only clue we have."

Ellington sighed and retrieved the statue from her bag. She held it for a bit longer than she should as Lemony took it from her. It felt wrong, to give back to a murderer the weapon of the crime. It felt as if she was giving him the power to hurt her all over again. The fear she was trying to keep buried inside her during the whole walk now was set free, but it decided to stay in her stomach and she felt glad she had skipped dinner. It also sent shivers through her spine as she watched Lemony watching the dark statue that was so disturbingly like the beast it could summon.

"You and Beatrice should take a few steps back." He said. It was infuriating how he didn't seem affected by the situation, his voice in the same emotionless tone as always. Ellington wondered if he was having another of those "get scared later" moments, or if he truly felt nothing, no fear, no sadness, no remorse.

She took Beatrice's hand, the girl's fingers quickly wrapping tightly against hers. Even her, who had never seen what they planned to call, was afraid. They took a few steps back, but didn't stay too far from Lemony. If the beast really came and if it did attack, it wouldn't matter if they were on the other side of the beach. There would be no escaping its fury.

Ellington swallowed down. After it happened, when she was with Kit and later, after they went separate ways, she sometimes stayed awake at night wondering if what had happened that day was real, and not some hallucination. She was about to find out.

Lemony looked at Ellington, and she nodded. He blew into the statue's hole, producing that sound that Ellington had never forgotten. The waves kept crashing against the beach.

Ellington held her breath, and had a tight grip on Beatrice's hand. Lemony looked expectantly to the sea.

Nothing happened. If a creature that huge was approaching, it would not go unnoticed. But it was not. Nothing was coming.

Lemony took a paper from his pocket, where a summary of months of research on where the creature could be was written.

Ellington let out her breath, feeling relief and disappointment at the same time. She didn't have to face the beast again, but they were back at the start. She felt the world shaking. Maybe she shouldn't have skipped dinner.

"Can you feel this?" Lemony asked, turning to her and shoving the paper carelessly back into his pocket. He was never careless with his papers. Something was up.

It took a moment for Ellington to realize that the world was indeed shaking, like an earthquake. That moment was long enough for her to realize that Lemony had asked the wrong question. He shouldn't have asked if she could feel it too. He should have asked what he would do when the beast arrived on the beach. The moment was also too short for her to find an answer. The sound, that same sound the statue made, accompanied by a splash of water. A head appeared from the water, darker than the night. It was far, and Ellington's lantern didn't reach it well, but it didn't need to. She could see its eyes, dark as a bottomless pit, staring at them. She didn't need to ask to know they were all seeing it as well.

"The Bombinating Beast…" Beatrice said, her voice sounded almost hypnotized.

"Send it back!" Ellington shouted, voice cracking. She wanted to run, or to let go of Beatrice's hand so she could run, but she was frozen in place. It was like a nightmare coming true. It was real, and it was back, it was right there, and she couldn't fight and her father was really never coming back. And she was 13 again, she was defenseless, she was in front of a monster and nothing could save her.

The small rational part of her mind that was left realized that Lemony seemed as frozen as her, and that was no good. One of them had to escape. One of them had to protect Beatrice. One of them had to find her family.

The statue! It called the thing, it could send it back, right?

"Lemony? Lemony! Send it back! Send it back, please!"

"It's really here…" He whispered, not moving.

The world shook again. Ellington at first thought that the water was splashing on her face, but then she realized it was her own tears.

The Bombinating Beast was moving towards them, a small earthquake following each step. None of the three seemed able to move. Ellington kept shouting at Lemony to send it back, send it away to never come back.

It stopped at a distance that could easily be covered by a move of its neck. Somehow Ellington managed to raise her lantern, to illuminate its head. It seemed bigger than she could remember, not that her memories were very trustable. There was something else that seemed different too. Maybe it was the scars spread on its body. Maybe it was the way it moved its head. Or maybe it was because Ellington was not 13 anymore.

Whatever it was, in seconds the Bombinating Beast didn't seem like a monster, a living nightmare anymore. It seemed like an animal, tired and wounded.

"Hey!" Lemony shouted. Ellington turned to him and saw that he had removed the hat and the long-coat. "What have you done?!"

The Beast breathed sharply, causing wind that the three could feel.

"You have sunk their boat, haven't you?!" He kept shouting. "How could you?! I have set you free!"

Ellington blinked. That was the plan? It had sounded like a good idea. It had felt like if they found the Beast, all their problems would be over. It all seemed so silly now.

"I have set you free and you hurt people!"

"Lemony!"

"How could you?!"

"Lemony, stop!"

"Beatrice is alone and it's all your fault!"

He was crying too, Ellington could tell. And she couldn't blame him. If she wasn't so terrified at first, and if she hadn't realized what she had later, she would have joined in his shouting. It was very easy to blame everything on a single creature.

His last sentence seemed to have brought him some strange sort of relief, as after it Lemony finally turned to Ellington.

"It's not its fault," Ellington said, shaking her head. "It's an animal. It only follows its instincts."

"I… I know." Lemony said, lowering his head.

The Beast kept in its place, staring down at them. It probably had no idea of what that all was about.

Beatrice slipped her hand from Ellington's and walked a few steps forward.

"It's so beautiful…" She said, raising her arm as if to try and pet it, as if it was an oversized cat. Both Lemony and Ellington held her before she could step any closer.

"Careful," Lemony said.

The Beast tilted its head and blinked.

"What do we do now?" Ellington asked. "It's not like we can ask it where they are."

Lemony looked down at the statue he was still holding.

"I don't know."

The Beast made a low sound, almost as if it was bored from only staying there. It took another sharp breath, and opened its mouth slightly, spitting something on the sand, that landed near where the trio stood. Ellington frowned and raised her lantern to its head again. Right at that moment, the creature opened its mouth more, in a yawn.

Ellington had never realized its head was so huge. Even a particularly tall person could fit standing on its mouth. The opening of its throat was equally huge, and it seemed more hollow than it should be. She couldn't see any membranes sticking out inside of it. But she didn't have long to see this: the creature soon finished yawning and turning away, back to the sea. The first steps brought more earthquakes, until it was far enough for it to dive and go away.

For some reason, she remembered something her father told her once, about certain species of frogs that swallow their eggs and regurgitate their offspring when they are ready to live on their own. But she knew she shouldn't be thinking of such things now.

Ellington turned back to Lemony, that was crouched down on the sand looking at the items that the Beast spat. Beatrice was on his side.

"They're dry." The girl said.

The items included a notebook, a can of white beans, some broken pieces of wood, and a shell bottle that both Beatrice and Lemony recognized. They were indeed dry, no signs of saliva or seawater anywhere. The notebook was intact. It was the first item that Lemony took, unsurprisingly.

Ellington once again remembered about the frogs. Maybe it was the time to think of such things.

Beatrice took the shell bottle in her hands.

"What does it mean?" She asked.

"I don't know," Lemony admitted. "But we will find out."

Beatrice looked at Ellington, who nodded.

"We got this far, right?"

Beatrice nodded back.

"Please help me pick all of this up, Miss Feint," Lemony said. "I think these are our next clues."

Ellington would usually reply to such a request with a rude remark just to remind him that she wasn't supposed to like him. But now she had her mind so full of things that she forgot all about that. She put all that fit her bag in it, and the rest they shared between the three of them to carry back to Lemony's apartment. He insisted that they took even the pieces of wood, that seemed useless. Ellington didn't even say anything about that.

They left the beach as the first rays of sun illuminated the sky. Lemony had his fugitive outfit back on, Ellington had the statue secure in her bag together with items that might or might not help in their search. They walked in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. They still didn't have the answers they sought. Instead, they had more new mysteries. Ellington imagined Lemony was eager to start reading the notebook, and Beatrice maybe was a little shaken from meeting the Beast, even if she didn't fear it as Ellington herself once had. Or maybe her mind was in the small bits of the life she used to have that came back to her. As for herself, Ellington was thinking for the first time about taking a look at some of her father's research subjects. When the thought first crossed her mind it was only a silly hope, a denial, but now there was a real chance it could be helpful.

She felt hope, but not of recovering something long lost. But it was still hope, an odd feeling for her.


End file.
